Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for the future of the UK manufacturing sector of the most recent foreign direct investment figures published by the Office for National Statistics.
Manufacturing makes a significant contribution to the UK economy accounting for 10% of GVA (£177bn) and 49% of exports (£270bn). Exports of goods to the BRICS group of countries have more than doubled to £29bn since 2007 when this figure was £12.8bn. Manufacturing output in the UK increased by 0.4% from July to August 2017 and by 2.8% over the year from August 2016 to August 2017.
It may be helpful to point out that foreign direct investment (FDI) flow data can be very volatile, influenced by a small number of large value mergers and acquisitions. For example, the strong rise in the value of outward FDI in 2017 Second Quarter can largely be attributed to one exceptionally high-value transaction: Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc of the UK who acquired Mead Johnson Nutrition Company of the USA[1].
We are ensuring that the UK is an attractive place to start, maintain and grow a manufacturing business: